Episode discussion post: "Harvest"

[jae]

Aired:
9 May 2018 in the U.S. and Canada

This is a discussion post for episode 607 of The Americans, intended for viewers who are watching the show on the U.S./Canadian schedule. (Feel free to dive in to the discussion even if you're coming in late--and you should also feel free to start a new thread if it seems too daunting to read through what's already been posted first. If you're reading this at a point where you've already seen subsequent episodes, though, please take care to keep comments spoiler-free of anything that comes after season six, episode seven.)

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Comments

[sistermagpie]

That's how I read it too. Not hopeless, but kind of the opposite, realizing that he should be telling her about Oleg. Of course he can't know for sure how that will turn out, but he knows what to do now and is all in. He's giving up some things he thought he wanted, but I it's also more like he's accepting who he actually is instead of pretending he really wants to be Philip Jennings.

In my very slow rewatch (putting my notes on a different site) I've gotten up to A Roy Rogers in Franconia and everything Gabriel says about William basically applies to Philip as well. He says he didn't talk William into anything, he just "reminded him who he was" and "gave him what he wanted." I think Philip's choices are made similarly in this season.